With Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker now widely available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD, CBM was recently granted an exclusive opportunity to get on the phone with Academy Award-winning special effects supervisor Neal Scanlan, who graciously took the time to describe the intricate process behind creating some of the film’s most memorable moments. 

Among the many things we covered, he went into extensive detail on creating iconic characters like BB-8 and Babu Frik, breathing life into a massive practical effect like the Vexis snake, resurrecting the legendary Emperor Palpatine (as a clone) and finally, the emotional farewell for Carrie Fisher’s General Leia.

ROHAN:  I’m sure you’ve been asked this a million times, but would you mind briefly describing your responsibilities on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker?

NEAL SCANLAN: Normally, I suppose, my responsibilities fall into creating and bringing to the table, the creatures, aliens, droids, all of which can be created in a whole number of ways. My responsibility is to listen to what the director, to what J.J., had in his mind and try to interpret and give to him his vision and then design them, make them, produce them, perform them as almost, hopefully, turnkeys as it were.

ROHAN: When you’re creating these extremely popular characters like BB-8 and Babu Frik, do you ever stop to think about how these characters could ultimately live on forever, etched in the minds of millions of fans across the globe?

NEAL: Well, you know, design is such an odd thing, the way you get to a design could be done in so many different ways. So, for instance, if you take something like BB-8, who was shown to me with just a simple little sketch on a napkin drawn by JJ. It was literally a ball with a kind of half-ball on top. So, in many ways, I attribute the design of BB-8 to JJ.

Then, there are other times when something may come up and the director JJ may say – for instance with D-O – that he kind of has an idea, but it isn’t concrete and you just have to go off what he tells you and go sketch ideas out. I have a team of concept guys with me and we discuss things, joke around, play around, and try to keep it fresh. Then, for like Babu, JJ will say he’s an eight-inch figure and so, you have to start thinking about “Oh, what’s that going to look like?” It’s such a collective thing and ideas and influences and all these come from so many different areas that if you kind of absorb and I think concept design is all about being a sponge and to listening to what people are saying, imagining what the scenario is thinking about what the story point is, all of those sort of things. So, you never really know, you know, that you’re going to make something, a character, that people are really going to latch into.

I mean, some of the characters that we’ve made, for some reason, have become more favored than others and I honestly don’t know why that might be. I mean some of them were obvious, they have a larger part to play in the film, but some of the background characters have also become quite favored and actually have almost become sort of characters with their own backstory through the fan base. So, it’s very difficult to really know what those ingredients are. I think if we knew which design was going to work, then we’d have a smash hit every time. *laughs*

ROHAN: Another creature that I thought was very cool and I think has been underappreciated since the film’s release was the Vexis snake, which was a completely practical effect. Could you describe realizing that creature and the process behind making something so creepy but also quite cool and bringing it to screen?

NEAL: Thank you, and again, that’s one of those scenes that JJ described to us as best he could, telling us what he sort of wanted. We knew the idea of the tunnels, we it would it would be set in a sort of semi-darkness, and we sort liked the idea that there was no way out without going through this character when Rey just happens on it. You feel like you’re surrounded, there’s an atmospheric feel.

In order to do that, we create a very simple prototype that was made from effectively ventilation tubing, very large ventilation tubing and connected it to a pole arm and then, we built a little bit of set with some polystyrene and some cardboard cutouts and I said to JJ, when he came to our workshops, to work in this direction. We had to turn the lights out and we tried to be, in very modest terms, to try and create that scene that JJ had just described to us with all those practical elements that hopefully be there on the day. And, if he responds positively to that, we know that we are thinking in the right light as far as performance parameters and also the design is heading in the right direction.

We call them show-and-tells and we do it with a lot of the characters that we have in the film, whether they be one or groups of characters. We always do these things because it tells us so much about where we’re going with them and how we’re going to do it, what the expectations are, what JJ’s expectations are for the performance and where the emotion needed to lie. So once we knew what that was, we knew that we could pretty much build it the way we had mocked it up.

There were huge advantages of doing that because we can get people opportunities inside the body to roll around and impart movement into the body as well as for the head and then, it was really about designing the physical look, what did the face look like? For that, we did small little maquettes and then, eventually the largest sculpt. JJ would come in and we would look at it from different angles, the lighting guys and the cinematographer would come in and look at it from different angles.

There were so many things about the situation, when you see a character like that from the angle that you’re going to shoot it at, it tells you quite a lot more than when you just look at it from above or you look at it from, should we say, an uncertain perspective. It’s an organic process that moves right the way through this final paint job on the day when you add in the extra flair or touches or any other thing you might need and obviously, with some things, we had Roger and the team at ILM, who were there and essentially came in and did quite a lot of over painting in certain areas. They added some vibration into the mouth and just generally took it to the next level, which is what we should be doing for today’s audience. Taking the very best of all these techniques.

ROHAN: Yeah, and I think it really came out great. It’s dark in the scene, but how large was the actual creature when you were finished?

NEAL: I think it was about four-foot in diameter, it’s general body size, and about thirty-five foot long. And, then we made small sections, which were inserted inside the holes that were in the back of it. So, it felt like a worm that had sort of wrapped its way through these tunnels or actually it created a worm cast. We were able to get this feeling that although the head and neck were moving, a part that was clearly not attached to that was also moving because it was an insert section.

It was what we call fabricated, which was in order to make it that great size and quickly, we had to also make it light enough so that we could get the dynamics of it to work for our purposes. It was made by not sculpting the whole thing, but by sculpting sections that fitted together and then a team of fabricators – what we call fabricators are marvelous people – would effectively stitch and sew and glue and fix and all that and assemble it up as a sort of full-size puppet.

ROHAN: One of the biggest reveals in the movie was, of course, the return of Emperor Palpatine – well, I guess the Palpatine clone is more accurate. He’s the big villain, and he’s back.

You’re tasked with reimagining this iconic villain from the ‘80s and I know you wanted to initially make him a little more gruesome that what we see in the final product. Could you maybe describe the process and the realization you had when JJ came to you and told you for the first time that Palpatine was coming back? And, what your first thoughts were on how to reintroduce him to this new audience?

NEAL: Yeah, I mean, I think characters like Yoda and Chewie, Palpatine, for me, is kind of hallowed ground. Stuart Freeborn, his team and also Nick Dudman, who did the initial makeup effects on the Emperor, which to me was stunning in so many ways.

The medium, at the time, they were working with the foam latex, the old-age stipple and all of those things and then, I remember Nick telling me that he had a nightmare shooting that sequence because, by the end of the day, sweat is starting to cause the glue to become loose and he’s patching it back together and doing all kinds of things to try and keep it looking good.

Anyways, when we looked at that, what they did gives him that incredibly eerie, that incredible look and I just felt that the only way of recreating that was to go back and look at what they’ve done and actually use a lot of the materials that Nick had and use the same techniques because that connection is so important. We could’ve gotten involved with it and arrogantly thought that “Oh, we can do something better than that,” but that would be missing the point completely.

So, yes, absolutely. There were two stages to it and there was the sort of first day of school stage, the sort of hinting at what’s to come and there is enough of a clue there and then, there’s the second stage, which was the full Palpatine at the end. The Emperor in the lair. We actually did that first and sort of reverse engineered back from that.

Again, we went into lots of ideas and explorations just as we did with the serpent animatronic. We did a very simple thing with Palpatine, as a clone, we looked at disembodiment, we looked at disfiguration, we looked at sort of life support, all those things. We did a few little mock-ups of things to get a sense of really just how this scene will play out and I think a lot of those are influential in the set design as well and with the concept guys. My concept guys have quite a lot of ideas of him on a kind of chair.

So, all of those things play off each other in order to get the kind of effect that we see. So, yeah, it was I think, in respect to what Nick Dudman had done on the original trilogy, and thinking about the sensitivity of how far you can take him, our original version was a bit too horrifying for children. *laughs*

ROHAN: There’s a big scene in the middle of the film with Luke and Leia where they’re seen training and fans finally get to see Leia wield a lightsaber. I imagine most of it had to be done with archive footage and a body double, but could you touch on just realizing that sequence because I felt like it’s one of the most touching moments in the movie.

NEAL: Yeah, I mean absolutely. Roger Guyett, who’s the visual effects supervisor, and ILM had already worked very hard on establishing the methodology on how to shoot Carrie and in so many ways, this was exactly the same.

The whole sequence, JJ acknowledged right from the start that there were just things we had to do on the day and he had to make the decision on the day, he had to commit to it on the day because there could be no other version of that if archival footage was to be used and so, the whole sequence was approached with that footage already there.

It was almost like these are the angles we’ve got, these are the parts that can be used. Roger had already established all of those things. I mean, we did look at potentially using pull over masks any of those things to help that composition, but really, it truly wasn’t needed because once we broke it down and the sequence was shot in such a way that Roger knew that he could use that footage we had, then it was a case of just execution. It was done quite clinically in order to make it happen. Clinical from the perspective of a visual effect, but obviously shot with as much emotion, as much care that JJ needed to put in that moment.

 

 

 

Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens in U.S. theaters on December 20.

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Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has officially announced that The Invisible Man will arrive on Digital HD on May 12 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on May 26. 

Prior to the worldwide theater shut down, the Leigh Whannell-directed horror remake, which garnered extremely strong reviews from critics and fans alike (91% approval on review aggregator RottenTomatoes; B+ CinemaScore), was one of this year’s biggest smash hits, grossing over $125.8 million worldwide on an extremely modest $7 million production budget. 

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the film was made available to rent early on a variety of digital retailers for $19.99 last month, albeit without any special features.

For fans, the upcoming home video packaging will be well worth the money as it will contain a lot of very cool bonus content, including a lengthy Director’s Journey that will take you behind the making of the movie and an audio commentary with director Leigh Whannell. Plus, there are also deleted scenes and a number of other featurettes to give you even more access to The Invisible Man.

BRING HOME THE SPINE-TINGLING THRILLER FROM THE PRODUCER THAT BROUGHT YOU GET OUT AND HALLOWEEN

THE INVISIBLE MAN

FEATURES NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN BONUS CONTENT INCLUDING AN IN-DEPTH
LOOK AT THE RE-IMAGINING OF THE ICONIC, CLASSIC MONSTER

“CERTIFIED FRESH” ON ROTTEN TOMATOES
BE THE FIRST TO OWN IT ON DIGITAL MAY 12, 2020
4K ULTRA HD, BLU-RAYTM AND DVD MAY 26, 2020
FROM UNIVERSAL PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Universal City, California, April 7, 2020 – THE INVISIBLE MAN, an intense, modern-day psychological thriller, becomes available to own for the first time on Digital May 12, 2020 and on 4K UHD, Blu-ray™ and DVD on May 26, 2020 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. From iconic producer Jason Blum (Halloween, Split, Get Out, Us) and director Leigh Whannel (Saw, Insidious, Upgrade), this psychological thriller modernizes Universal’s shapeshifting, classic monster against a backdrop of an empowered woman facing her tormentor. “A cutting, contemporary work of socially conscious horror” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), THE INVISIBLE MAN comes home with never-before-seen bonus content.

THE INVISIBLE MAN follows a modern tale of obsession inspired by Universal’s classic monster character. Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) slowly begins to rebuild her life after the death of her abusive ex-boyfriend (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). But before long, she begins to question whether or not he is truly gone. In addition to the feature, THE INVISIBLE MAN delivers up twenty minutes of exclusive bonus content, including a chance to better get acquainted with the film’s leading actress: Elisabeth Moss, feature commentary with the writer/director and deleted scenes you won’t want to miss.

Hailed as ‘Certified Fresh’ on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of 91%, THE INVISIBLE MAN stars two-time Emmy®-winner and two-time Golden Globe®-winner Elisabeth Moss (Us, “The Handmaid’s Tale”). Accompanying Moss is SAG®-winner Aldris Hodge (“Black Mirror”, Straight Outta Compton), Oliver Jackson-Cohen (“The Haunting of Hill House”), Storm Reid (Don’t Let Go, “Euphoria”). The theatrical version of the film is currently available for early viewing on a wide variety of popular on-demand services as a premium rental offering.

BONUS FEATURES on BLU-RAY, 4K ULTRA HD and DVD:

• DELETED SCENES
• MOSS MANIFESTED – Elisabeth Moss describes the physical and emotional challenges she faced while portraying Cecilia, a woman whose truth is constantly questioned by those around her.
• DIRECTOR’S JOURNEY WITH LEIGH WHANNELL – Director Leigh Whannell acts as tour guide through principal photography, from day 1 to day 40.
• THE PLAYERS – Filmmakers and cast provide an in-depth analysis of each character and how they interact with the unseen terror of THE INVISIBLE MAN.
• TIMELESS TERROR – A behind the scenes look at how writer/director Leigh Whannell re-imagined this iconic character through the lens of modern technology and socially relatable themes.
• FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH WRITER/DIRECTOR LEIGH WHANNELL

What you can’t see can hurt you. Emmy winner Elisabeth Moss (Us, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale) stars in a terrifying modern tale of obsession inspired by Universal’s classic monster character.

Trapped in a violent, controlling relationship with a wealthy and brilliant scientist, Cecilia Kass (Moss) escapes in the dead of night and disappears into hiding, aided by her sister (Harriet Dyer, NBC’s The InBetween), their childhood friend (Aldis Hodge, Straight Outta Compton) and his teenage daughter (Storm Reid, HBO’s Euphoria).

But when Cecilia’s abusive ex (Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House) commits suicide and leaves her a generous portion of his vast fortune, Cecilia suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of eerie coincidences turns lethal, threatening the lives of those she loves, Cecilia’s sanity begins to unravel as she desperately tries to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see.

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Ant-Man and The Wasp V1

A look at the pair in their costumes as the original Ant-Man and The Wasp.

 

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Sonic the Hedgehog proved that the video game movie curse is officially dead as critics and fans alike loved it (you can read our review by clicking here). Throw in the fact that it was a box office hit, and it’s fair to say that there’s a lot of excitement surrounding the yet to be announced sequel.

After being made available EARLY on Digital platforms, the movie arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on May 19th, and to celebrate its release, we recently had the opportunity to catch up with star Lee Madjoub. He plays Agent Stone in Sonic the Hedgehog, and has been hailed as the breakout star (the character, meanwhile, has gained a devoted fan following online). 

As the straight man to Jim Carrey’s villainous Dr. Robotnik, Madjoub was responsible for many of the funniest exchanges in the film, and made a lasting impact after past memorable roles in TV shows like Supernatural, Zoo, and The 100. 

In this interview, we delve into the Robotnik/Stone relationship, his experiences working with Carrey, and even hear a compelling argument for why he could be the Marvel Universe’s next Wolverine!

It was great to talk to Lee about Sonic the Hedgehog, and we obviously want to extend a huge thank you to him for taking the time to do this interview happen with everything going on in the world right now. Agent Stone is clearly a role he’s passionate about and, after reading this, we’re pretty sure you’ll also want to see him don those familiar claws…
 

Were you a fan of the Sonic the Hedgehog games before being cast and what did it mean for you as an actor to join such an iconic franchise?

Yeah, I actually did play Sonic on the SEGA Genesis when I was a kid. It was probably my favourite game growing up, and the SEGA Genesis was the first console I got to call my own. It was extremely surreal to get cast in the movie itself, and then when I found out Jim Carrey was playing Robotnik, and I was gonna be playing his right-hand man, it took it to the next level for me. I also grew up loving Ace Ventura, The Mask, and, well, all of Jim’s stuff! 

You’re very much the straight man to Robotnik, but how do you keep a straight face when Jim Carrey is reeling off lines like the one about how Stone makes his lattes?

It was a challenge to keep a straight face at times, for sure. What was lovely about that set was that everybody was so positive, and having a good time was really welcomed. If we broke or laughed, you didn’t feel like you were doing anything wrong, thank goodness! There were a few times, and the scene I remember was when Robotnik sticks the quill to his tongue and electrocutes himself…and then turns to me and offers it to me! I had such a tough time keeping a straight face, so I had to figure out ways to change my facial expression or not quite look at Jim in the eyes in order to get that scene done.

Did you get the opportunity to do much in the way of improv on set?

I did. Fortunately, working with Jim, improv comes with it. The looser he gets, and the more he’s figuring out Robotnik, the more permission I had to feed off of whatever he was doing. That was really welcome, and it was amazing to be able to say, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m getting to improvise with Jim Carrey, one of the greatest at it.’ Some of the stuff didn’t work with Agent Stone, but we got to flesh it out and have a lot of fun, nonetheless. Sometimes in the movie, you didn’t get to see the improv, but then some of the improv does actually make it in there!

Did you find playing an original character without ties to the video game series freeing as there weren’t any specific expectations from fans?

I think it was a little bit of both, to be honest. In the cartoons, he’s got Orbot and Snively in certain versions, and when you’re playing someone that already exists, you have a little bit of something to feed off. You go, ‘Okay, this is what the character is like, so I can take some hints there.’ With Agent Stone, there’s also the element of freedom where there’s nothing pre-established so you could do whatever works within the realm of the story after discussions with Jeff Fowler, who was our amazing director, and the writers and Jim. It was definitely fun not to be tied into anything and feed off Jim, for sure, and then what was on the page for us, was all you ended up seeing in the movie. Stone was, I wouldn’t say last minute, but through the last few drafts, Stone was written in to give Jim someone to talk to. He was the straight man in the movie, but through discussions with Jim and Jeff and Toby [Ascher], our fantastic producer, we were able to flesh out the story a bit and figure out the relationships, and it turned into what you see now. 

I feel like it’s fair to say that you were the movie’s breakout star, but were you surprised by the reaction fans have had to Agent Stone?

Yeah, I never ever imagined Agent Stone would have this much backing from the fans. Even before the movie came out, you’d see him once in a trailer, but people started to really stick by him. A lot of fans were like, ‘We are Agent Stone, and he is us.’ We’ve all had to work with that boss who doesn’t appreciate you, and you get hired for one reason, but all they want you to do is make coffee! It was really surprising and it’s still very surreal. There’s a lot of engagement, and a lot of fan-art out there that I’m so appreciative of and it blows me away every time I see a new art piece come out.  
 

It seemed Robotnik hated everyone other than Stone, and he even finds a new Agent Stone on the mushroom planet, so I was wondering what you think it is that makes your character different to everyone else in Robotnik’s life? 

[Laughs] You know what, to me, I think Stone sees something in Robotnik that no one else does. There’s this utter respect he has for Robotnik, and he lets him get away with a lot like the hand going into the mouth and the throat chop. Stone understands that this is Robotnik, and this is what he needs to do his thing. What I also love about Stone is that he judges Robotnik at times too, so I feel like there’s a respect there, but I think Stone is unwavering and always there for him and it probably forces Robotnik to have to be okay with it. 

Were you surprised to watch that mid-credits scene and see that Agent Stone had been replace with, well, a stone? 

The day I wrapped on set was the day before I shot that scene. I was there when they were coming up with the ideas, and Jim was talking to them saying, ‘What if he has another Agent Stone? Like a Wilson from Castaway?’ It was so funny, and I saw them putting the moss beard on there. I laughed really hard. There’s flattery there too as Robotnik needs Stone in some way, shape, or form in order to continue doing what he’s doing. No matter how much he denies needing anybody, I think Robotnik kind of needs Stone there even though he’s not willing to admit it. 

Were there any scenes you shot which were particularly memorable for you that you didn’t ultimately make the final cut?

Honestly, all of my major scenes made the cut. I’m so grateful for that. It’s really hard to pick a favourite scene out of all that stuff as it was all with Jim, and there was always something to do and something memorable between the two characters in every scene we did. Even when he asks if I see anything on the screen and I’m like, ‘Nothing at all,’ and he responds with, ‘That’s right, it’s because you weren’t trained by the Native American shadow wolves!’ Even in that moment, Agent Stone gives him this look, and there was always some fun to be had. Ultimately, I think the latte scene…the Austrian goat milk latte scene is my favourite just because that whole dance leads up to this one moment and it’s the only time in this movie that Robotnik actually pays Stone a compliment even though it’s berated and he yells at him. 

You’ve spent some time in the Marvel Universe voicing Harry Osborn in the Absolute Carnage shorts, but would a live-action superhero movie role interest you, and do you have any characters in mind?

Ohh, that’s a really good question! I grew up loving Wolverine. That’s always been one of those childhood dreams of mine. If I get the chance…I don’t know, there might be fan outcry or whatever, but you know, I’m a little bit hairy! I’ve got the bushy eyebrows! I’m Canadian! I qualify in certain ways. I’m shorter than Hugh Jackman! It’s okay, we can pull it off…I’ll put on the weight. I don’t care! [Laughs] Wolverine, for sure. Ever since I was a child, I’ve wanted to play him. There are a few anime characters I’ve always wanted to play too if they were ever turned into live-action. There’s an anime called Saint Seiya. Also, Venom. I love the anti-heroes for some reason growing up. As a kid I got picked on and I was never really in any groups and I never fit in, so I think the anti-heroes kind of had that little angry voice in me that I couldn’t quite express. 

Looking ahead to a possible Sonic the Hedgehog sequel, what would you like to see from Stone next if he gets to reunite with the new, unhinged Robotnik?

I would love a moment where we see why he’s an actual agent. I feel like he could kick some butt. We haven’t seen it yet, and I would love a moment with Robotnik as a damsel in distress and Stone shows up, saves Robotnik, and Robotnik won’t admit that he’s saved him! 

You can find Lee on Twitter HERE, Instagram HERE, or Twitch HERE!
 

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Earlier this week, a video surfaced online which very clearly showed Justice League actor Ezra Miller grabbing a young woman by the throat and dragging her to the ground after asking if she “wants a fight.”

Despite reports that Miller was behaving aggressively while drinking in a local bar beforehand, there was speculation that the entire incident may have been staged as some sort of prank. We still don’t know the full story, but it doesn’t look like the alleged victim is pressing charges. Or at least, she hasn’t yet.

The Wrap reached out to the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police for an update, and was told that “no one was arrested or placed in custody regarding this.” Miller’s representatives were also asked for a comment, but have yet to respond.

We’ll have to wait and see if any more light is shed on what happened, but if it’s revealed that this wasn’t a prank, it will be difficult for Miller to sweep it under the rug – whether the woman in question presses charges or not.

Could it wind up costing him his role as The Flash? It’s certainly possible, but don’t expect any snap decisions from Warner Bros. before the full story comes out.

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During a live watch-along with fans on Twitter last night, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn revealed a ton of awesome details about the 2014 movie.

One standout sequence featured the unlikely team of heroes locked inside the Kyln prison, and an irate Peter Quill had his Sony Walkman stolen by an unnamed, blue-skinned guard. Eventually, Star-Lord was able to steal it back from him, but the filmmaker has now detailed a deleted scene featuring the character which definitely would have been pretty memorable. 

As you can see, there was going to be a sequence with the guard beating prisoners as he danced to Pilot’s “Magic.” Clearly, this would’ve helped make him even more hateful! 

Guardians of the Galaxy‘s “Mean Guard” was played by Spencer Wilding, the same actor who suited up as Darth Vader in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. A version of the sequence can be found on the Blu-ray, but “Magic” now joins the likes of Tree Dog Night’s “Never Been to Spain” and Electric Light Orchestra’s “Livin’ Thing” as tunes which ultimately didn’t make the final cut. 

Check out Gunn’s Tweet below:
 

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